NewSpace News

[Space Racer]

https://media.townhall.com/Townhall/...0804044508.jpg
https://townhall.com/political-carto...0/08/04/175684

SpaceX Starship SN6, SN7.1 & SN8 updates, Crew 1/2 update & US launch service contracts awarded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MihfKKrWWuQ

[ESokoloff]

Here’s a tour of Space X's Boca Chica facilitates....

https://youtu.be/wZS75iY6EZc

[Space Racer]

Elon Musk Reveals Starship's Plans & Changes | SpaceX in the News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlfjiKOieik

SpaceX Starship Super Heavy and Raptor Engine Evolution, Starship SN-6 Hop, Starlink, SAOCOM 1B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrHMGTCMJ0Q

[Space Racer]

Rocket Lab Completes Final Dress Rehearsal at Launch Complex 2 Ahead of First Electron Mission from U.S. Soil
.

WALLOPS ISLAND, Virginia. [17 September 2020] – Rocket Lab, a leading satellite manufacturer and launch provider, has successfully completed a wet dress rehearsal of the Electron vehicle at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia. With this major milestone complete, the Electron launch vehicle, launch team, and the LC-2 pad systems are now ready for Rocket Lab’s first launch from U.S. soil. The mission is a dedicated launch for the United States Space Force in partnership with the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program and the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Small Launch and Targets Division.

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/about-u...from-u-s-soil/


When It Comes To Military Launches, SpaceX May No Longer Be The Low-Cost Provider
.

On August 7, the U.S. Space Force awarded contracts for Phase Two of its long-running launch services program, covering national security missions through 2027. United Launch Alliance and SpaceX were selected to provide the launch vehicles for over 30 missions, while Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman NOC -3% were not chosen.

Space Force officials made clear that source selection was driven mainly by past performance. United Launch Alliance, with a 100% success rate over two decades, won 60% of the Phase Two business. SpaceX won 40%. It was a major victory for SpaceX, vaulting it, as the Wall Street Journal observed, into “an elite tier of military suppliers.”

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has been seeking this status for many years, and heaven knows his company has proven itself. In addition to introducing innovations such as reusable launch vehicles, it has managed to underprice even the Chinese in commercial competitions with its novel business strategy.

United Launch Alliance, which once enjoyed a monopoly of U.S. military launches, had to slim down and introduce a new family of more efficient launch vehicles to remain competitive. ULA is jointly owned by Boeing BA +1% and Lockheed Martin LMT -1.4%, both of which contribute to my think tank.

But along the way to its breakthrough win with the Space Force on August 7, something curious happened in the way SpaceX priced its services. The price for using its Falcon Heavy vehicle more than doubled from what Musk originally claimed would be the maximum cost.

In 2018 he said the rocket would cost no more than $150 million to loft heavy payloads into orbit. But the award SpaceX received for a single mission in the first year of Phase Two was $316 million. That’s quite an increase.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenth.../#43ab91944c3b

SpaceX raises Falcon Heavy launch price for U.S. military
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-th...-u-s-military/


Users Are Starting to Report Internet Speeds From SpaceX’s Starlink
The low-orbit satellite service should be a huge step up for rural Americans.
But experts say it won’t be the game changer many expect.
September 22, 2020
.

Space X’s Starlink satellite broadband service promises to deliver better, faster broadband to those just out of reach of cable, fiber, or DSL. But while early speed tests show the service could prove hugely-beneficial for rural Americans without other options, experts say the service won’t be quite as disruptive to the broken U.S. broadband market as you might think.

Starlink relies on lower-orbit satellite constellations capable of providing faster speeds at lower latency than the dumpster fire that is traditional satellite broadband. Whereas traditional satellite is “laggy,” slow, expensive, and usage-capped, Starlink (and similar efforts by companies like Amazon) promise faster, lower latency broadband almost anywhere in the continental U.S.

Early speed test results linked to Starlink IP addresses are promising. Speed tests from those participating in the Starlink beta show peak download speeds upwards of 114 Mbps, with upload speeds topping out at around 40 Mbps. That’s notably faster than many DSL lines, and on par with many mid-tier cable broadband offerings.

Average speeds are notably slower, but still a big improvement for rural Americans struggling with traditional satellite or DSL lines that haven't been upgraded in years.

Starlink will be particularly welcome news to the 42 million Americans currently out of range of broadband, a problem that’s been highlighted by pandemic lockdowns forcing some kids to huddle in the dirt outside of Taco Bell just to get online.

But while Starlink will certainly help bridge this “digital divide” by bringing better options to rural Americans, Elon Musk has acknowledged the service won’t have the capacity to seriously disrupt regional U.S. telecom monopolies like AT&T, Verizon, Spectrum, and Comcast.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5p7...acexs-starlink

[ESokoloff]

.............


When It Comes To Military Launches, SpaceX May No Longer Be The Low-Cost Provider
.

On August 7, the U.S. Space Force awarded contracts for Phase Two of its long-running launch services program, covering national security missions through 2027. United Launch Alliance and SpaceX were selected to provide the launch vehicles for over 30 missions, while Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman NOC -3% were not chosen.

Space Force officials made clear that source selection was driven mainly by past performance. United Launch Alliance, with a 100% success rate over two decades, won 60% of the Phase Two business. SpaceX won 40%. It was a major victory for SpaceX, vaulting it, as the Wall Street Journal observed, into “an elite tier of military suppliers.”

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has been seeking this status for many years, and heaven knows his company has proven itself. In addition to introducing innovations such as reusable launch vehicles, it has managed to underprice even the Chinese in commercial competitions with its novel business strategy.

United Launch Alliance, which once enjoyed a monopoly of U.S. military launches, had to slim down and introduce a new family of more efficient launch vehicles to remain competitive. ULA is jointly owned by Boeing BA +1% and Lockheed Martin LMT -1.4%, both of which contribute to my think tank.

But along the way to its breakthrough win with the Space Force on August 7, something curious happened in the way SpaceX priced its services. The price for using its Falcon Heavy vehicle more than doubled from what Musk originally claimed would be the maximum cost.

In 2018 he said the rocket would cost no more than $150 million to loft heavy payloads into orbit. But the award SpaceX received for a single mission in the first year of Phase Two was $316 million. That’s quite an increase.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenth.../#43ab91944c3b

SpaceX raises Falcon Heavy launch price for U.S. military
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-th...-u-s-military/


............

Looks like the story line is wrong.....


“Task orders for the launch service support and launch service contracts will be issued to ULA for $337 million and SpaceX for $316 million for launch services to meet fiscal year 2022 launch dates. ”

https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Disp...ervice-contra/

So much for credible journalism.

Also the initial low cost/launch requires re-usability & horizontal payload integration that the Space Force MAY not allow hence the higher cost.

Sounds like Forbs has it out for Musk which is a shame that an organization would work that way.

[Space Racer]

SpaceX Starship countdown to flight - Elon's Starship update in 3 weeks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWtzNVrKRWo

Elon Musk Shares New Starship Details | SpaceX in the News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxzLYJa87Bk

SpaceX Starship Project Olympus – Crew 1 Preparing For Lift-Off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIuhyjPGsf8

[Space Racer]

SpaceX Crew Launch to ISS Sunday, November 15, 2020

This is the first operational commercial crew launch from the USA.
It's also the first time a capsule has carried four astronauts.
From now on, SpaceX is in the commercial passenger spaceline business,
and the US will no longer purchase seats on Soyuz capsules.

SpaceX crew launch set for Nov. 14
October 27, 2020
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NASA astronaut Victor Glover, commander Mike Hopkins, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and mission specialist Shannon Walker (left to right) will launch on SpaceX’s first
operational Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX

After a two-week delay to evaluate a concern with Falcon 9 rocket engines, NASA and SpaceX have set Nov. 14 as the target launch date for the first operational Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station, kicking off a half-year expedition in orbit for three U.S. astronauts and a veteran Japanese space flier.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/10/2...et-for-nov-14/


Veteran Japanese astronaut to become SpaceX’s first international passenger
November 14, 2020
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Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi has traveled to the International Space Station on a space shuttle and a Russian capsule. He’s now gearing up to launch on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship, becoming only the third person to launch from Earth into orbit on three different types of spacecraft.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/1...nal-passenger/


Astronauts fly with SpaceX in landmark launch for commercial spaceflight
November 16, 2020
.

A Crew Dragon capsule ferried four astronauts into space Sunday night after a rumbling departure from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, setting off on a 27-hour pursuit of the International Space Station on SpaceX’s first operational crew rotation flight to the orbiting outpost.

The commercial crew capsule, named “Resilience” by its four-person crew, rocketed off pad 39A at the Florida spaceport at 7:27:17 p.m. EST Sunday (0027:17 GMT Monday). A 215-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket gave the Crew Dragon spacecraft a fiery ride into orbit.

NASA commander Mike Hopkins was joined inside the crew capsule by pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Shannon Walker, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi. The four-person team is heading for a nearly six-month expedition on the space station, where the Dragon spaceship is due to dock at 11 p.m. EST Monday (0400 GMT Tuesday).

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/1...l-spaceflight/


Photos: Four astronauts launch aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
November 20, 2020
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/2...lcon-9-rocket/


Crew Dragon docking gives space station its first long-term crew of seven
November 17, 2020
.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft glided to a smooth automated docking Monday night at the International Space Station, delivering four astronauts to join the three-person crew already on-board, boosting the size of the lab’s long-duration crew to seven for the first time.

The space station has typically been staffed with six long-duration crew members since 2009, expanding from two- and three-person crews during construction of the research outpost. A seven crew member increase the scientific output of the more than $100 billion research complex.
...
NASA is working on an intergovernmental agreement with Russia to continue flying U.S. and international astronauts on Soyuz flights in exchange for arranging seats for Russian cosmonauts on Crew Dragon and Starliner missions to the space station.

The Starliner and Crew Dragon spaceships are designed to launch and land with four astronauts. Combined with a three-person Soyuz crew, that allows the space station’s crew complement to go from six to seven.

A big benefit of the added crew member will be to increase the space station’s capacity for scientific research.

The space station’s U.S. segment, which includes contributions from Europe, Japan, and Canada, now has five crew members with the arrival of the Crew Dragon Resilience mission. There are currently two Russian cosmonauts on the station, but Russia plans to have three cosmonauts flying on the complex again next year, bringing the long-term mix of crew members to three in the Russian segment and four in the U.S. segment, including astronauts from the other international partners.

“One of the cool things about having the Commercial Crew Program is we’re able to double the amount of crew-tended science and research and technology development we do on-board the International Space Station,” Montalbano said. “With three (U.S. segment) crew members, we were averaging about 35 hours a week of crew-tended science research. With a fourth crew member, that person’s time — the equivalent time — is dedicated to science and utilization and research.

“So we’ll be able to do 70 hours with the 4 crew members,” Montalbano said. “That kind of sets the standard for us as … we continue to develop the International Space Station, continue to use, and allows us to do not only the science and research we have, but technology demonstration that will help us with the Artemis program.”

The Artemis program is NASA’s program to return astronauts to the moon’s surface, build a small space station in lunar orbit, and establish a continuous human presence at the moon.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/1...crew-of-seven/


Crew-rated SpaceX booster returns to Cape Canaveral with a lean
November 20, 2020
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The Falcon 9 booster from the Crew-1 launch returned to Port Canaveral on Thursday aboard SpaceX’s drone ship “Just Read the Instructions.” Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now

The Falcon 9 booster that launched four astronauts toward orbit last weekend arrived back on Florida’s Space Coast Thursday aboard a SpaceX drone ship, sailing into Port Canaveral with a lean but otherwise in seemingly good shape after it apparently slid across the ship’s deck in high winds and rough seas.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/2...l-with-a-lean/


SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts get Dragon Spacecraft with woman onboard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLYsck7zRO8


SpaceX Crew-1 launch and Falcon 9 first stage landing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvjtQvqhwCg

Launch To Docking timeline
https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/statu...74552060665857

SpaceX Crew-1 docking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8yXyVyi4ew

Long Version:
Crew-1 Mission | Rendezvous and Docking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hK540tMmvw

Watch SpaceX Crew-1 Dragon hatch open and board the ISS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVMThyqlODA

NASA's SpaceX Crew 1 Flight Day 1 Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKh_Dt9zuY0

NASA and SpaceX Crew-1 Flight Day 2 Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeASL8gZowc

SpaceX and NASA'S Crew 1 Mission Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r07DzLrh-T0

SpaceX Crew Dragon aces third autonomous space station docking
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-cre...-capsule-tour/

Soyuz vs. Crew Dragon: Why does SpaceX take so long to dock with the ISS?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzb-cNk5zEM

7 Differences Between SpaceX Crew-1 and DM-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngrdlPrvm7U

SpaceX Crew-1: Earth From Space seen from Crew Dragon Arrival at Space Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDEcVPCoYIA

SpaceX Crew-1 booster returns to Port Canaveral; Astronauts rave about ride to ISS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYIjQBwU5bk

SpaceX - CREW 1 - Return To Port 11-19-2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxCW2j_nDs


Complete Mission (4-1/2 hours):

SpaceX Version:
Crew-1 Mission | Launch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnChQbxLkkI

NASA Version:
Watch the Launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 Mission to the International Space Station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_FIaPBOJgc

[Space Racer]

SpaceX Falcon 9 Sentinel 6 Launch LIVE from Vandenberg AFB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlB_y4MuLfA


SpaceX, NASA, ESA launch Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission
November 21, 2020
.

Fresh off their second crewed launch for NASA, SpaceX temporarily shifted focus on launches to the U.S. West Coast, where a Falcon 9 rocket launched the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich oceanography satellite in cooperation with NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Space Agency, and various other partners.

Launch occurred from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 09:17 Pacific Standard Time — or 17:17 UTC — on Saturday, 21 November.

This mission was the 100th for SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 launch vehicle (but only its 99th launch), and the 108th mission in general for the company since its creation in May 2002. This was also the 95th orbital launch attempt made by any launch provider so far in 2020.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020...eilich-launch/


Photos: Falcon 9 launches and lands at Vandenberg Air Force Base
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/2...ir-force-base/


SpaceX going for new rocket reuse record on 100th Falcon 9 launch
November 22, 2020
.

Sixty more Starlink internet satellites are ready to rocket into orbit Sunday night from Cape Canaveral on the 100th flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher, and the seventh flight of SpaceX’s reusable “fleet leader” booster.

The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch at 9:56:21 p.m. EST Sunday (0256:21 GMT Monday) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission is set to blast off less than 34 hours after SpaceX’s previous flight, a Falcon 9 launch from California that hauled into orbit an oceanography satellite designed to measure sea level rise.

The Falcon 9 launch with the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich oceanography satellite Saturday was SpaceX’s 22nd mission of 2020, breaking the company’s record for the most launches it’s performed in a calendar year. Sunday’s flight will extend the record.

While the Falcon 9 launch from California flew with a factory-fresh first stage booster, SpaceX’s launch from Florida Sunday night will use a booster that’s flown six times before. The seventh flight of the rocket will set a new record for SpaceX’s rocket reuse program, breaking a mark set by the same booster on its sixth mission in August.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/2...lcon-9-launch/


SpaceX launches first in new line of upgraded space station cargo ships
December 6, 2020
.

An upgraded version of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo freighter launched Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, loaded with 3.2 tons of supplies and experiments in the first of at least nine resupply flights to the International Space Station under a new NASA contract.

The cargo capsule lifted off on top of a 215-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket at 11:17:08 a.m. EST (1617:08 GMT) Sunday, vaulting away from pad 39A with 1.7 million pounds of thrust from nine Merlin main engines.

The launch signaled the start of SpaceX’s 21st operational resupply flight to the space station, and the first using the company’s new generation of Dragon cargo capsules. The first 20 flights, spanning a period from 2012 until earlier this year, used a now-retired version of the Dragon spacecraft.

The second-generation Dragon supply ship is based on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle designed to fly with astronauts. On the cargo capsule, SpaceX removed the crew-rated ship’s launch abort system and replaced the vehicle’s touchscreen displays and seats with racks and freezers to hold supplies and experiments.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/0...n-cargo-ships/

[Space Racer]

Rocket Lab closes out year with launch of Synspective’s first radar satellite
December 15, 2020
.

Rocket Lab’s seventh and final launch of the year delivered a small radar observation satellite into orbit for Synspective, a Japanese startup planning a fleet of 30 or more Earth-imaging spacecraft providing day-and-night imagery of cities around the world.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/1...dar-satellite/


Chinese spacecraft heading back to Earth with lunar samples
December 15, 2020
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A Chinese spacecraft ferrying rocks drilled from the moon’s surface is on course to land back on Earth Wednesday and deliver the first fresh lunar samples to scientists since the 1970s.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/1...lunar-samples/


SpaceX closes out record-setting year of launches from Florida’s Space Coast
December 19, 2020
.

SpaceX hurled a secret cargo into space for the U.S. government’s spy satellite agency Saturday, the 30th rocket launch to fly into Earth orbit from pads on Florida’s Space Coast in 2020. The Falcon 9 flight broke an annual record for missions to reach orbit from the Florida spaceport that stood for 54 years.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/1...s-space-coast/


Canadian astronaut to join NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission around the moon
December 21, 2020
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A Canadian space flier will join three NASA crew members on the first piloted flight of the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft around the moon, becoming the first non-U.S. astronaut on a lunar voyage, officials announced last week.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/2...ound-the-moon/


Three astronauts assigned to Crew Dragon mission in late 2021
December 29, 2020
.

Rookie NASA astronaut Raja Chari — a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot — veteran physician-astronaut Tom Marshburn, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer have been assigned to fly to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship in the fall of 2021.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/2...-in-late-2021/


Chinese mission returned nearly 4 pounds of lunar samples
January 1, 2021
.

Chinese officials say they plan to share a portion of the nearly 4 pounds of lunar material returned by the Chang’e 5 mission with other countries, but an allocation for U.S. scientists will hinge on a change in U.S. policy restricting cooperation between NASA and China’s space program.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/0...lunar-samples/


U.S. companies, led by SpaceX, launched more than any other country in 2020
January 5, 2021
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Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes. China followed with 35 successful orbital missions in 39 launch attempts.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/0...untry-in-2020/



James Webb, OneWeb highlight Arianespace’s 2021 launch schedule
January 11, 2021
.

The planned Halloween launch of the James Webb Space Telescope — one of eight Ariane 5 launches left before the rocket’s retirement — and a series of flights to build out OneWeb’s satellite internet network highlight Arianespace’s schedule this year.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/1...unch-schedule/


The JWST has been under construction for about 25 years.

NASA completes construction of the James Webb Space Telescope
November 3, 2016
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...pace-telescope

NASA's Huge New Space Telescope Is Finally Complete
https://www.iflscience.com/space/nas...ally-complete/

James Webb Space Telescope
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_...pace_Telescope


Blue Origin tests passenger accommodations on suborbital launch
January 14, 2021
.

Blue Origin says it is “very, very close” to flying humans on suborbital launches to the edge of space after a successful test flight of a human-capable rocket and capsule Thursday.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/1...shepard-ns-14/


SpaceX Starship SN9 Flight setback, CRS-21 return, Blue Origin NS-14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2SIPy6dYp4


NASA takes a chance on Virgin Orbit with company’s second test launch
January 16, 2021
.

On its second launch attempt after a propulsion problem prevented its light-class air-dropped rocket from reaching space last year, Virgin Orbit will try to deliver 10 experimental CubeSats into orbit as soon as Sunday on a mission booked by NASA five years ago for $4.7 million.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/1...l-test-launch/


Virgin’s satellite launcher reaches orbit for first time
January 18, 2021
.

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket fires its NewtonThree main engine moments after release from the Boeing 747 carrier jet, named “Cosmic Girl.” Credit: Virgin Orbit

An air-launched rocket built by Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reached orbit Sunday for the first time, delivering 10 experimental CubeSats for NASA and positioning the company for the start of commercial operations.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/1...on-second-try/


Boeing making progress on Starliner software for test flight in March
January 18, 2021
.

The crew module Boeing’s second Starliner spacecraft is lifted Jan. 13 inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Boeing/John Proferes

Boeing said Monday it has re-qualified software for the company’s Starliner crew capsule after programming errors cut short the spacecraft’s first orbital test flight in 2019, and technicians at the Kennedy Space Center have connected the crew and service modules for the next unpiloted Starliner test flight to the International Space Station in March.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/1...ight-in-march/


SpaceX sets new rocket reuse records with successful Starlink launch
January 20, 2021
.

SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink satellites Wednesday into a sunny sky over Florida’s Space Coast, adding more capacity and coverage to the company’s commercial broadband network while setting new records for the pace it is reusing Falcon 9 rocket boosters.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/01/2...arlink-launch/

[Space Racer]

SpaceX Starship Update, DearMoon announcement, Rocket Lab Neutron and Starlink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzN0hpsH9Iw

[Space Racer]

SpaceX Crew Dragon, four astronauts set for brief flight around the space station
April 4, 2021
.

To set the stage for another Dragon launch just a few weeks from now, NASA astronauts are preparing to board a SpaceX Crew Dragon for a brief flight around the International Space Station (ISS).

Orbiting roughly 400 km (250 mi) above the Earth’s surface, the ISS and its crew of seven international astronauts have just two docking ports available to manage a growing influx of SpaceX Crew and Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft, as well as Boeing’s chronically delayed Starliner. While Starliner hasn’t flown since a near-catastrophic orbital debut in December 2019 and isn’t likely to reattempt that uncrewed flight test until the second half of 2021, SpaceX is in the exact opposite position as it prepares to sustain an unprecedented Dragon launch cadence.

One challenge of that cadence ramp – space station port logistics and availability – is now becoming clear as SpaceX nears its next Crew Dragon NASA astronaut launch.

Slipped back into our spacesuits for the upcoming port relocation of @SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience on Monday. We'll take a short ride in Dragon to move from the Harmony forward port to the Harmony zenith port in order to make room for our new crewmates! pic.twitter.com/x9LD69mUOC
— Mike Hopkins (@Astro_illini) April 1, 2021

Crew Dragon capsule C207 and its expendable trunk have been in orbit for almost five months (140 days), crushing the previous non-Dragon US record of 84 days. (NASA)

Read the rest; see the pictures and video:
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-cre...cation-crew-2/


For more on recent SpaceX and ISS activity, see
https://spaceflightnow.com/

[Space Racer]

Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon roll out to pad 39A
April 18, 2021
.

A Falcon 9 rocket with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft rolls up the ramp to pad 39A Friday. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft rolled out to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Hydraulics raised the 215-foot-tall (65-meter) rocket vertical on the historic launch pad in preparation for liftoff with four astronauts heading for the International Space Station.

The two-stage launcher, powered by a booster stage reused from a crew launch in November, is set to take off Thursday at 6:11 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT) with NASA commander Shane Kimbrough, pilot Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency mission specialist Thomas Pesquet.

All veterans of previous space missions, the four astronauts are setting off on a six-month expedition on the space station. They will ride into orbit inside the cabin of SpaceX’s commercial Crew Dragon Endeavour spaceship, also refurbished after a flight last year.

The Crew-2 mission marks the first time SpaceX has launched a crewed mission using a reused rocket and spacecraft. It’s the third Crew Dragon flight with astronauts overall, and SpaceX’s second full-up crew rotation mission to the space station.

See the excellent roll-out photos:
https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/04/1...-to-pad-39a-2/


Crew Dragon astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center for launch preps
April 16, 2021
.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, Crew-2 pilot Megan McArthur, Crew-2 commander Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide arrived at
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Friday for final launch preparations. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

An all-veteran crew of four astronauts jetted into NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Friday for the final few days of rehearsals, briefings, and relaxation before blasting off Thursday bound for a six-month stint on the International Space Station.

Led by Shane Kimbrough, a veteran of space shuttle and Soyuz flights, the astronauts arrived at the Florida spaceport shortly before 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) Friday aboard a Gulfstream jet from their home base in Houston.

Kimbrough will be joined by pilot Megan McArthur, a NASA astronaut, and mission specialists Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency, respectively.

NASA, JAXA, and ESA officials greeted the astronauts after they arrived at Kennedy on Friday.

The four astronauts are scheduled to launch Thursday at 6:11 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT) aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. After riding a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit, the Dragon spaceship will fly on autopilot for the one-day trip to the space station, culminating in a docking at 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT) next Friday, assuming an on-time liftoff.

“It is awesome being at Kennedy Space Center, especially on launch week,” said Kimbrough, a 53-year-old former Army helicopter pilot. “It’s definitely getting real.”

“As we came on on the plane over here, we got to fly by the pad and see our rocket getting ready to go,” McArthur said. “That’s just an amazing feeling.”

Kimbrough is a veteran of two previous space missions, including a flight on the space shuttle....

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/04/1...-launch-preps/


Dragon crew rehearses for launch day, first-look weather forecast looks good
April 19, 2021
.

NASA commander Shane Kimbrough, pilot Megan McArthur, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide stand inside the crew access arm leading to the Crew Dragon hatch at pad 39A during Sunday’s dress rehearsal. Credit: SpaceX

After completing a dress rehearsal for launch day over the weekend, the four astronauts gearing up for liftoff Thursday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket are in good spirits and spending time with their families in Florida before leaving the planet for six months.

Forecasters with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predict an 80% chance of acceptable weather for launch at 6:11 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT) Thursday from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The four astronauts, led by veteran NASA commander Shane Kimbrough, will fly with a Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station.

Kimbrough and NASA crewmate Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide of Japan, and Thomas Pesquet of France — all with spaceflight experience — suited up in their SpaceX pressure garments early Sunday and rode in Tesla Model X SUVs from crew quarters at Kennedy to pad 39A. The astronauts used the same timeline they will follow on launch day, and departed their suit-up room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building shortly before 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT).

They arrived at the launch pad less than a half-hour later....

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/04/1...st-looks-good/


SpaceX Crew Dragon launch to space station delayed to Friday by offshore weather
April 21, 2021
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Launch of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station has been delayed 24 hours to Friday because of bad weather in the Atlantic Ocean where the crew could be forced to ditch in an emergency, NASA announced Wednesday.

Originally scheduled for liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center at 6:11 a.m. EDT Thursday, the flight was reset for 5:49 a.m. Friday, roughly the moment Earth’s rotation carries pad 39A directly under the space station’s orbital path — a requirement for spacecraft trying to rendezvous with a target in low-Earth orbit.

“We’re going to have to delay a day, we’re not going to be able to launch tomorrow morning,” spaceport Director Bob Cabana told reporters. “Although the weather’s probably going to look great here at the launch site, we’re worried about those downrange winds and wave heights in case of an abort should that happen.

“As soon as this front gets through, it’s going to be absolutely beautiful Friday morning, we’re going to come out and do it again.”

If all goes well Friday, commander Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japanese flier Akihiko Hoshide will catch up with the space station Saturday....

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/04/2...shore-weather/


Crew-2 mission timeline
April 22, 2021
https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/04/2...sion-timeline/


Watch live: SpaceX launches Crew Dragon in pursuit of International Space Station
April 22, 2021
.

Live coverage of the countdown and flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, and Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet on a flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Watch the countdown to the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=827x6ydo3aA

Crew-2 Mission | Launch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW07SN3YoLI

See the text updates:
https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/04/2...status-center/

Also see coverage by Teslarati:
https://www.teslarati.com/category/spacex/

[Space Racer]

LIVE: Flight of the world's largest aircraft by wingspan | Stratolaunch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAII8Y3IaZw

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/in...pic=27520.2660

[Space Racer]

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says Starship will take over Starlink launches
By Eric Ralph - June 11, 2021
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reiterated plans for Starship to take over Starlink launches, eventually fully replacing Falcon 9’s role in the constellation.

Since dedicated Starlink launches began in May 2019, Musk, COO and President Gwynne Shotwell, and a few other SpaceX officials and executives have made it clear that the company would ultimately transition the task of launching and maintaining the Starlink constellation from Falcon 9 to Starship. Barring major surprises, Starship is being designed to be fully and rapidly reusable from the ground up, nominally making the system far cheaper to launch.

After Musk announced a radical redesign that replaced carbon composite structures with simple steel, Starship may even be far cheaper to build than Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy – despite being several times larger, heavier, more powerful, and more capable. Despite its relative shortcomings, though, Falcon 9 has become an extraordinarily reliable and available workhorse for SpaceX and has completed 28 operational Starlink launches – delivering ~1670 satellites to orbit – since November 2019.
.

Starlink missions will move to Starship
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2021

However, while Falcon 9 has done and continues to do an extraordinary job of routinely launching satellites and astronauts, Starship promises to blow it out of the water. It might be several years before Starship is deemed safe and reliable enough to launch humans but SpaceX could feasibly start launching Starlink satellites on the rocket almost as soon as it begins orbital flight tests.

Thanks to the low cost of each Starlink satellite, likely now around ~$250,000, it would be surprising if SpaceX didn’t include at least a few dozen satellites in the early phases of orbital Starship flight tests – even if success is far from guaranteed. At some point, though, and perhaps quite quickly, Starship will safely make it to orbit, reenter, and touch down beside a Super Heavy booster a few times in a row, effectively demonstrating fitness to launch (uncrewed) payloads.

Read the rest:
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-sta...ship-takeover/



SpaceX president teases Starship’s game-changing Starlink launch capabilities
By Eric Ralph
Posted on October 28, 2019
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SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell teased new information detailing the wealth of benefits that the next-generation Starship launch vehicle could bring for the deployment of the company’s Starlink internet satellite constellation.
.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket can launch 60 Starlink satellites at a time but that's only a fraction of what Starship will be able to do, President Gwynne Shotwell said.

"Starship can take 400 satellites."https://t.co/X4pXaaOATh
— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) October 27, 2019
...

Each Starlink costs more to launch than it does to make, even with the flgiht-proven Falcon 9. #Starship would decrease launch costs of Starlink by at least a factor of 5. #Starlink #SpaceX
— Chris G – NSF (@ChrisG_NSF) May 15, 2019

Read the rest:
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-pre...-capabilities/

[Space Racer]

Scheduled to launch Wednesday, 15 September 2021:


Inspiration4 announces crew for private SpaceX Crew Dragon mission
March 30, 2021
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WASHINGTON — The private venture that purchased a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to low Earth orbit has finalized the crew for that mission, scheduled to launch as soon as September.

The Inspiration4 mission, which describes itself as the “world’s first all-civilian mission to space,” revealed the crew that will accompany its sponsor, entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, during a March 30 event at the Kennedy Space Center. Isaacman announced the mission Feb. 1, starting a pair of contests to select two people who would fly with him.

https://spacenews.com/inspiration4-a...ragon-mission/


Meet The First All-Civilian Space Crew | Inspiration4 Livestream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bkx2ENyAAs


SpaceX to upgrade Dragon with the most immersive window ever launched into space
March 31, 2021
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SpaceX and Inspiration4 customer Jared Isaacman have revealed a substantial and unexpected design change made to the Crew Dragon spacecraft that will carry the billionaire and three guests into orbit later this year.

Reminiscent of the beloved “Cupola” (Italian for dome) built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2010, SpaceX says it has designed a spectacular ‘glass dome’ window add-on for Crew Dragon. Thanks to some level of newfound commercial interest in free-flying Crew Dragon missions, in which the spacecraft would operate as its own miniature space station for several days, SpaceX concluded that it could fully remove the spacecraft’s docking adapter.

In its place, SpaceX has apparently designed a huge, monolithic, dome-like window that promises to offer a viewing experience likely unmatched in the history of spaceflight.

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-cre...-inspiration4/


SpaceX Inspiration4 | First All-Civilian Mission To Space

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI7zVzXSe48

The First All-Civilian Mission To Orbit
https://inspiration4.com/

Upcoming SpaceX Launches
https://www.spacex.com/launches/

SpaceX to Launch Inspiration4 Mission to Orbit
https://www.spacex.com/updates/inspi...ion/index.html

SpaceX Youtube Videos
https://www.youtube.com/spacex

Inspiration4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspiration4

SpaceX Inspiration4 arrives in Florida, will complete experiments during mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3YZraSJz7g

Space Tourism: SpaceX Inspiration4 Mission Will Send 4 Civilians With Minimal Training Into Orbit
https://scitechdaily.com/space-touri...ng-into-orbit/

SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian mission: How to watch the launch next week
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/spacex-i...-weeks-launch/

Talking Inspiration4 with Sian Proctor - 1st all-civilian orbital mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGF0s3ToTg

[Space Racer]

See the Inspiration4 crew peer through the SpaceX Crew Dragon cupola window for 1st time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWktoPI3Gno

Backup:
Inspiration4 crew opens Dragon's cupola for the first time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T-exE-DRRo

Inspiration4 Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChV...YScBIrZuxYRY7g


Watch SpaceX's Inspiration4 astronauts see Earth through their huge window for the 1st time (video)
https://www.space.com/spacex-inspira...a-window-video

Inspiration4: SpaceX's historic private spaceflight in photos
https://www.space.com/spacex-inspira...mission-photos
(Clickbait)

SpaceX's private Inspiration4 crew returns to Earth with historic splashdown off Florida coast
https://www.space.com/spacex-inspira...turns-to-earth

[Space Racer]

Astra - The Anti-SpaceX company with a HUGE mission. But is it the right mission?
Play at 1.5 speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8DZi8_3698

[Space Racer]

LIVE! SpaceX Launches Historic Double Asteroid Redirection Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5bgTfaa9jA

Watch NASA’s DART Mission Launch (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) Official Broadcast/Stream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0OUvEh3HWk

Dart Mission
https://www.spacex.com/launches/

DART: NASA & SpaceX Will Slam Into An Asteroid
Play at 1.25 speed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFI--8sP0OE

DART, NASA's First Planetary Defense Test Mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbL07cZUEMU

Behind the Spacecraft: NASA's DART, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test
Play at 1.25 or 1.5 speed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7zdeQ-Uw8k

NASA & SpaceX Officially Launching FIRST Planetary Defense System to protect Earth!
Play at 1.5 speed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqZTiH1IS9E

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test prelaunch news conference
Play at 1.25 or 1.5 speed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u_s6uls55k

Why the SpaceX/NASA DART Mission may be too little too late!! (Updated release)
Play at 1.5 speed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wI_JcZZ5DA

[Space Racer]

More Details about the DART Mission

Asteroid Impact Mission [cancelled]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4lpu8HbpFY

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART): Hitting an Asteroid Head On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNSYuY6N1Rs

DART - The First Planetary Defense Mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoLH3ruxDsY

NASA’s Plan to Stop an Asteroid Headed for Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqHXiJ5pGLY

Smarter Navigation on NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbjpe8FtQxA

NASA's Asteroid Redirection Mission Explained (Watch it here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvGUGJgEDUE

Astronauts Show How NASA's DART Mission Will Change an Asteroid's Motion in Space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFHce6TXVTQ

NASA's DART Mission Will Move Mountains In Space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0nZvOm3bNs

NASA is deliberately smashing an asteroid in the name of planetary defense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLgiiNybgFE

Double Asteroid Redirection Test
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double...direction_Test

NASA's Dart mission set to launch early Wednesday morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SS9TZeMOzE

[Brian GC]

What if everyone on this site opened a thread about their quirky interest like this Space Racer guy does and went on and on about it.

With almost no responses he hasn't got the hint that nobody cares. What an absolutely, clueless dork!

More proof that intellegence has nothing to do with smartness.